The Welterweight division is arguably the best in the sport of boxing right now.
With champions such as Errol Spence Jr., Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford to go along with contenders Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter and Yordenis Ugas, it isn’t hard to see why.
Simply put, there just aren’t any soft touches in the division.
With the amount of talent currently occupying the weight class, former two division world champion Danny Garcia (35-2, 21 KOs) has become the forgotten man. With a bit of an underwhelming run in second weight class, it’s easy to see why.
During the 2019 boxing calendar, Garcia only climbed through the ropes once, which resulted in a stoppage win over Adrian Granados. He’ll look to be more active in 2020 as he’ll get his year started with the upset minded Ivan Redkach (23-4-1, 18 KOs).
Redkach has been on a roll, winning three straight fights and recently putting away former champion Devon Alexander via stoppage.
For Garcia, it’s easy. Beat Redkach and do so impressively and he’ll have a major fight waiting on him. Most likely against unified champion Errol Spence Jr. or WBA titlist Manny Pacquiao.
Prop up Redkach all you want, but he just isn’t on the same level as Garcia. His run up to this point has been impressive, but it is a bit deceiving.
The biggest win of his career, which came in his last contest against Devon Alexander, was impressive. But, Alexander has been a shell of his former self for years now.
Simply put, Garcia can’t afford a slip up in this spot. He is still viewed as one of the best in the division, but a loss against Redkach will change that. Even a competitive decision win will be a stain across the resume of Garcia.
Redkach has chance to become a bonafide contender with a win against Garcia, but it just doesn’t seem likely. Garcia has too much on the line to come up short in this one.
